The Death of Love
by Lady Bagheera
Summary: Jareth's love dies...will Sarah be able to save him? Rated for language, and suggestive content.


_**Just a random thought I had. It'll probably stay as a one-shot, unless something interesting happens and I decide to continue it. Hope you enjoy, and please Review!**_

_**As always, the disclaimer applies.**_

THE DEATH OF LOVE

For the fourth time in as many weeks Sarah ran, half-clothed, from what had been a promising embrace. Her face burned, and sparkling tears fell down her cheeks, but she couldn't stop and go back. In fact, this time it felt as if she were being pulled to some unknown destination.

She nearly laughed when she saw what she was running toward. "A graveyard, how fitting. This _is_ the death of my love life, after all," she thought. A little breathless, she sat beside an empty grave. The headstone was already in place, she noted with some confusion, but the hole was empty.

"Read what it says, pretty lady."

Used to voices coming from nowhere, she nodded absently. The fae creatures she'd met in the Labyrinth had only been a few of the thousands of species, and in the last five years she'd met most of them. They showed up when it was time to make a big decision; almost like they were reminding her of a choice she wouldn't consider.

When she was feeling a little steadier, she read the engraving out loud. "Here lies a timeless love, dead before it was ever truly experienced." She felt new tears well. "But that's so sad. Who would turn their back on love, of all things?"

"You, Sarah."

This voice she knew. It slid over her skin in a dark velvet caress, and wrapped itself around her soul – turning her inside out and melting her insides. No matter that it had been five years since she'd heard it. His voice would always be a part of her. She stood to face him as calmly as she could manage. "Hello, Goblin King."

His heart, who's existence some would debate, slammed in his chest as he saw her red lace panties peek from under her sleep shirt. "My, Sarah, you're not even dressed," he drawled slowly.

Her face flushed, but she refused to give into the urge to pull her shirt down. Instead, she focused on his earlier comment. "What do you mean I'VE turned my back on love? I've been trying to pursue it, but your magic makes me run away!"

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked at her more closely. "You've been attempting to fuck someone?" His quiet purr was deadly, and his accent made the word seem more vulgar than it would have normally.

"As if it's any of your business."

Hands fisted at his side, his eyes fell closed for a moment. When they opened again, they were bleak; devoid of their customary fire. "You truly do not love me, Sarah?"

Speaking around the sudden lump in her throat, she lied. "No, Goblin King. I do not love you." She saw his eyes shutter as his hands began to glow.

In moments, a glowing ball rested lightly in his hands, and he spoke softly. "You have spoken the only words that could kill my love for you." He tossed the ball with a violent motion, and Sarah gasped as it hit the bottom of the grave.

As the dark earth closed over the golden glow, Sarah realized what the epitaph meant, and just what she'd done. She cried out and fell to her knees, frantically digging toward the warmth of the Goblin King's love.

It was a greatly reduced King that showed up in his throne room. There was no flair, none of his usual performance. It was the beginning of a bad time for Jareth's kingdom.

_**O**_

_**O**_

_**O**_

**_O_**

_**Six months later:**_

She'd torn herself up digging for his magic. Her heart, soul, and body had suffered some bruises, but she'd refused to give up. For two nights she'd dug, seeming to never get any closer; until finally she'd realized that fighting for it wasn't doing any good. So she'd sat still and reached for her own love; calling to his.

After six months, she'd finally come to grips with the way she felt about him, and she was ready to face him again.

Sarah reached with trembling fingers for the pendant. She lightly traced the symbol with her fingertips, and heaved a heavy sigh before she put it around her neck and said the words that would alter her existence forever. "I wish the goblins would come and take me away, right now."

When he appeared before the young woman he barely blinked. All the way up until he recognized the symbol that hung around her neck. He rose to his feet and snarled "Where did you get that? Who are you?"

She stared at him from completely serene eyes. Never had anyone been so unaffected by his anger. He watched, dumbfounded, as she met his eyes and slowly lifted the pendant toward him. When she spoke, her soft voice tugged at something inside of him. Something that begged him to remember while its counterpart screamed at him to run away. "This belongs to you, Goblin King. You threw it away and I merely retrieved it for you. I think you need it."

"I need nothing that I do not already have…but since that thing is obviously part of my magic, I believe I will have it NOW."

She merely laid the pendant on her palm and held her hand out to him; waiting for him to take it.

Just as his hand hovered over the necklace, something strange flashed in his mind. He saw a graveyard, and felt a searing pain unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. If it wasn't for his deep distaste for allowing anyone to have a piece of him, he would have left the thing in her hand. As it was, he was barely able to pick it up.

Watching closely, she held her breath as the magic flared and seemed to spread through his whole body. A hoarse cry was wrung from his throat, and his knees buckled as the force of his lost emotion slammed into his body. For a few seconds his world went black.

"She smells good," was his first, completely irrational thought. As his awareness returned, he realized that his head was resting in Sarah's lap, and her hand was softly stroking his hair.

Sitting up with a jerk, he peered at her; distrust warring with some small hope in his dual colored eyes. This time he remembered everything, but there were some answers he needed. "Why?"

Her eyes misted as she watched him pull his haughty mask back into place. "I lied before, Jareth. I do love you, I have loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you. I couldn't…I didn't know how to deal with it. I didn't understand what I was letting get away from me until I saw what happened when you tried to bury your love in the graveyard." She sniffled a little, and grinned wryly. "In fact, it's taken me another six months to figure it out."

"Sarah," he didn't really know what to say. "Do you truly understand what you're saying? You gave me back my love…don't make me regret feeling it again. Please."

It humbled her to hear the Goblin King say please, and hurt her in a way she'd never expected. "I understand, Jareth. I really do love you." She reached out to brush a lock of hair out of his eyes, and was amazed and humbled all over again when he didn't pull away from her. "You have every reason to hate me, but I will spend the rest of my life attempting to make it up to you if that's what you deem necessary."

Head spinning, heart aching, Jareth couldn't quite believe what was being offered to him. "Sarah…you wished yourself away. Do you even know what that means?"

"No, I don't know what that means, not really." She answered his next question before he could even ask. "It was the only way I knew of to bring you to me."

"So you took a major step into the unknown just to return my emotions to me? How could you know what my reaction would be?"

"I didn't." She smiled softly. "I'm tired of being alone, Jareth…and I finally realized how tired you must be since you've lived so much longer than me." Shrugging, she simply smiled again. "I love you, and I wanted to give you the opportunity to have a real life."

"And the fact that it would help you also didn't matter?" His voice was scathing, and he pulled away from her.

"No, Jareth. I can't say I don't care what happens now, but I wasn't thinking about that when I made the decision. All that mattered to me was giving that back to you, especially after I'm the reason you lost it."

Her voice was so sincere, and her eyes were brimming again. He just couldn't keep being mad at her. "Then I thank you, Sarah. Are you prepared to live with my decision? Are you prepared to live with a King? Because that is what I am, Sarah, always."

Shaking her head, she chuckled. "I don't know what it means to live with a king. But I am ready to be with you." Once more, she reached out to him; this time to run light fingers over his jaw. "You have been in my dreams since you sent me home, and I would like to experience the reality of you."

Voice haughty, he assumed his royal persona. "Kiss me. I need to taste you."

His words made her breath hitch in her throat, and she leaned forward to lightly press her lips against his. As his tongue swept against hers and she tasted the sweet spice of him, she felt the growl that rumbled up from his chest. Not being able to help herself, she threaded her fingers through his silky soft hair and pulled him closer.

Head spinning from her heat and the feel of her fingers in his hair, he crushed his lips against hers and deepened the kiss. When he finally felt as if he could pull away, he did. "You have to return with me, Sarah."

She chuckled breathlessly. "After that, Goblin King, I wouldn't stay here if you told me to."

Eyebrow raised in a classic Jareth expression, he drawled "Oh really? Well then I guess we're lucky I want you with me."

Nodding, she rubbed against him and grinned when his heart started pounding again. "Very, very lucky. I'm assuming your magic won't prevent me from…how'd you so elegantly put it, fucking…you."

With a wicked smile, he grabbed her hand and pressed it against where he ached for her. "What do you think, sweet Sarah?"

"That I'm very glad you will be gentle with me the first time," she said, blushing slightly.

Laughing, he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her fiercely.

When her eyes opened and she felt like she could think again, she realized they were in an opulent room dominated by a huge bed. In fact, they were on the bed…and somehow she'd lost her clothes.

"I will be gentle this time, Sarah, but be aware that gentle isn't my usual mode of operation."

It was her turn to growl as she ran almost frantic hands over his body. "I think I'll enjoy you anyway." Taming her need for a minute, she looked into his eyes. "I love you, Jareth, and I will gladly give you whatever you require."

He reveled in her words, knowing that she had no idea what she was promising, but grateful that she'd care enough to promise anyway. He bent his head to kiss her again, because he couldn't bear not to. "I love you too, Sarah. For now, let me attend to your needs."

_Oh yes,_ _this is going to be more than worth whatever trials come our way,_ she thought as his mouth and hands began a wicked exploration of her body. She looked down to see him watching her with the hottest look she'd ever seen grace a man's face, and 

she knew that she'd finally found the one who'd complete her. And she vowed to be the one to complete him.


End file.
